Shloka 29

Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra

Devanagari script

श्येन उवाच इन्द्रोडहमस्मि धर्मज्ञ कपोतो हव्यवाडयम्‌ । जिज्ञासमानोौ धर्म त्वां यज्ञवाटमुपागतौ

Transliteration

śyena uvāca indro ’ham asmi dharmajña kapoto havyavāḍ ayam | jijñāsamānau dharma tvāṁ yajñavāṭam upāgatau ||

Translation

قال الصقر: «يا عارفَ الدَّرما، أنا إندرا، وهذه الحمامة هي أغني (حاملُ القرابين). لقد جئنا نحن الاثنان إلى حظيرةِ قربانك لنختبر ونفهم مدى التزامك بالدَّرما.»

Word by Word

श्येनःthe hawk

उवाचsaid

इन्द्रःIndra

उडहम्a hawk (as prey-bird) / the hawk-form

अस्मिI am

धर्मज्ञO knower of dharma

कपोतःthe pigeon/dove

हव्यवाटःHavyavāṭa (proper name)

अयम्this

जिज्ञासमानौthe two (of us) wishing to know/inquiring

धर्मम्dharma

त्वाम्you

यज्ञवाटम्Yajñavāṭa (proper name)

उपागतौhaving approached / having come near (the two of us)

Speaker

श्येन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śyena (hawk)

Indra

Kapota (pigeon/dove)

Agni (as Havyavāṭ)

Yajñavāṭa (sacrificial enclosure)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not merely declared but demonstrated under pressure; the gods themselves may test a person’s righteousness, especially where compassion, protection, and competing duties collide.

What is happening in the narrative?

The hawk reveals that he is Indra and that the pigeon is Agni; together they have come to the sacrificial enclosure to examine the addressee’s adherence to dharma by placing him in a moral trial.